Division of Labor
by King in Yellow
Summary: Many married couples define 'his' jobs and 'her' jobs around the home. Some add a category of 'our' jobs. In same-sex marriage there still may be a division of labor, but 'his' and 'her' become somewhat murky. Under the influence of too much sun Kim contemplates whether she or Shego 'wears the pants in the family'. Another peek into the Best Enemies universe.


Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible series are all owned by Disney. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

NoDrogs created the twins. I gave them a new origin.

**Division of Labor**

The sun beat down as Kim mowed the lawn. The temperature soared over ninety, and with the humidity approaching a hundred and twenty-seven percent (Kim knew that was impossible, but it didn't change the way it felt) the result seemed like mowing a sauna. Short-tempered, at the moment she wasn't sure if the old straw hat was simply an annoyance or if it offered protection.

Although the girls claimed to have picked up all the toys from the yard the redhead mowed carefully, especially around the bushes bordering the herb garden - she had learned a lesson from the unfortunate croquet ball incident. ("It's Kasy's fault," Sheki insisted. "Jane put it there!" Kasy responded. "You were the one watching her," Sheki shot back, "she's a baby." "I'm not a baby!" And Shego was no help with, "Mommy should watch where she's mowing.")

Sweat soaked her t-shirt and she grew light-headed from dehydration. In addition to her internal debate, "Shower first, or big glass of lemonade?" Kim reflected on her family growing up, _"Mowing the lawn, definitely a father's job."_ Kim paused to wipe away the sweat dripping into her eyes. _"Doing the dishes is a father's work too."_ Of course her father had been appointed dishwasher when he proved incompetent around a stove – a condition Kim inherited. At least he knew how to put a steak on a grill without the fire department being called. Not that anyone needed to call the fire department. Kim could have put it out without help. Shego did the cooking, woman's work. Kim blamed her father's genes as she started the last section of lawn.

Shego also handled vehicle maintenance – a husband's job... Or was it? Kim's brothers had taken care of vehicle maintenance almost from the day they could hold a wrench. It was a man's job anyway, Jim and Tim handled it for their families. And it was simply easier for Shego, since she worked in Middleton, to drop a car at the shop if she didn't have time to fix it herself.

Laundry duties were shared equally, more or less. Shego called it 'woman's work' because her mother managed the chore. Kim viewed laundry as gender neutral since it had been a shared responsibility in the Possible household.

With a sigh of relief Kim killed the motor on the mower and pushed it into the garage. As she left the garage and headed for the house Smaug and Jane ran past her in what might have been some version of tag, or perhaps the pure joy of two innocent creatures able to enjoy the day since neither a small child nor a dragon can be trusted with a lawn mower. Shego's voice directed Kim to not use the kitchen door, "Come sit on the porch for a minute! I have lemonade!"

"Big glass?"

"Huge glass."

"I could kiss you."

As Kim accepted her glass of lemonade Shego looked her partner over, "I may skip the kiss until after you shower."

Kim took a big gulp, "Oh, that's good! I bet I sweated off six pounds. Are you still willing to sit on the porch swing with me, or am I too disgusting?" Shego raised an eyebrow and examined Kim critically, "Now keep in mind," the redhead warned her partner, "if you ever want any again, ever, the answer is you'll sit and talk with me."

The green woman laughed and gestured to the porch swing, "Sit and talk to me for a minute? You are in a terrible mood if you're issuing threats like that."

"Yeah. Sorry. Brain baked," Kim confessed as she sat down. She took another big drink of lemonade, "This helps. Thanks."

"A woman's work is never done. I slaved away over a blazing hot ice cube tray and juicer for the one I love," sighed Shego. "So, what are your plans for the rest of the day, just take it easy?"

"Well, stay out of the sun for sure. And a shower."

"Want me to bring you a beer while you watch the Cubs? That's dad's ritual after mowing the lawn. He timed it to pop the top just before the first pitch."

Kim took a sip of lemonade. "You reminded me of what I was thinking about as I mowed. Which of us does more 'wife' work and which of us does more 'husband' work?"

"You were definitely in the sun too long."

"Maybe."

"And you didn't take enough feminist studies courses in college."

"Global Justice didn't require a lot of those."

"Well they should have. You do realize that a lot of gender roles are programmed by society and have nothing to do with being a man or woman?"

"Who can think rationally in this heat? Mowing lawn is husband work, cooking is wife work."

"My mom stayed home and watched us kids. So I saw a lot of the gender stereotypes. I got over it."

"Cooking is wife work, washing dishes is husband work–"

"My mom did both."

"My dad washed. Of course, neither of us likes to shovel snow–"

"Earth to Kim, no one older than six likes to shovel snow. It's why the good Lord gave us plowing service. I get the idea you feel like the husband in this marriage."

"No, I–"

"Of course that makes sense, you're great at the husband's biggest role."

"Which is?"

"Falling down in the romance department."

"I–"

"When was the last time you brought me flowers? Or came up behind me while I was cooking and kissed the back of my neck? Candy?"

"We're trying to not over-do sugar!"

"It's an example. I swear, If we call Bonnie we'll find you're better at forgetting to be romantic than Ron."

"Okay, that's it. For that I'm calling Joss and seeing if they'll take Jane tonight. You find a place for the twins. I'll call Martini's, or maybe the Astor, and after we get home..." Kim paused, "You set me up, didn't you?"

"You set yourself up with the gender role stuff. I just pushed you over the edge. Hey, if you don't want to go out for a romantic dinner followed by an evening of slow, sensual love-making that's okay. I'll just cry myself to sleep while you–"

"Oh, turn it off," Kim sighed, "that's kicking me while I'm down."

"Sorry," the green woman apologized. She leaned over and gently nibbled on Kim's ear lobe for a moment. "Maybe I'll think of some way to show you how much I love you during that slow, sensual love-making."

"Yeah, I... Hey, when was the last time you brought me flowers?"


End file.
